Arizona Connection features lectures, forums, conferences and panel discussions - many presented by the University of Arizona.
Explore this vast library of videos that tackle an array of topics including science, education, health and politics, and keep current on scientific discoveries and issues of importance to daily life.

Featured Series

"The 2015 UA Science Lecture Series explores our Universe at molecular, biological, planetary and cosmic scales to ask 'What is life?' and how do we recognize it? Life as we know it produces complex order. Earth's many life forms are diverse and continually changing through birth, growth, and evolution. To understand life in the Universe we ask: What environments produce life and which attributes make something alive? How does life change? Is there life in our Solar System, or on one of countless exoplanets? Is there a connection between life on Earth and life elsewhere? Or are we alone?" - UA College of Science

"Last year the UA College of Scoial and Behavioral Sciences launched its first annual Downtown Lecture Series focusing on 'happiness.' Due to the immense interest demonstrated by the public, the series has returned this fall spotlighting 'food' and how it shapes our lives, our community, and our environment." - UA College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

"The astonishingly complex human brain is the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Layered upon its ancestral core of ancient molecules and neural circuits, which have comparable functions in other animals, new structures have evolved that expand the capacity of the human brain to flexibly process information and to elaborate complex behaviors. Human brains are continuously remodeled by environmental forces and by the enormous sum of information generated by human inventiveness. These new technologies further expand the power of our brain to manipulate information and interact with countless others in remote environments that once were far beyond our reach.

Today, sophisticated techniques allow us to probe the structure and function of our own brains and those of other species with the aim of better understanding how brains originated and where the evolution of our own brain will take us" - University of Arizona College of Science

"The UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) will host the first annual Downtown Lecture Series at the Fox Theater. The one-hour lectures, presented by UA faculty, will be held on Wednesday evenings for five consecutive weeks in October and November. The goals of the lecture series are two-fold. The first goal is to broadly share research happening at the UA that enhances the human condition. In service to this goal, the series will annually explore a subject that shapes our daily well-being – such as childhood, food, community – from different vantage points. This year the subject will be 'happiness'." - UA College of Social & Behavioral Sciences

"From Gregor Mendel's discovery of the laws of heredity, to the recognition of DNA as life's critical molecular "key", scientists have probed the role of this remarkably complex material and the code it contains to expand our understanding of life.

With the genetic code of hundreds of life forms now sequenced, and geometrically larger genomic datasets publicly available, scientists are able to advance research into the genetic roots of disease and how global viral pandemics occur, how transformative agricultural research can help feed our planet’s growing population, how environmental influences affect individual development, and how genetic mutation and variation impact survival at the species level" - University of Arizona College of Science

"Participants in this conference are a pioneers in exploring new research issues and future directions for discovery, translation and application of knowledge to ultimately prevent, treat, and cure obesity. Welcome to the adventure!

Together scientists and clinicians develop collaborative solutions and research agendas for combating obesity and related chronic diseases. Risk factors for obesity include poor dietary choices and physical inactivity. Chronic diseases related to obesity may be prevented through changes in food environment, better understanding of the nutritional biology of obesity, and implementation of food policies" - UA College of Department of Nutritional Sciences and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

"Many of today's children will live for a century of longer. Which factors will affect their longevity? Will they be happy, healthy and productive? Emerging science and medical technologies provide many clues regarding the future of aging, but changing demographics and economics have also begun to influence society's views. Beyond doubt, each of us will face new levels of scientific complexity in this new world." - UA College of Science

10 years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona is putting on a series of presentations to discuss the changes that have occurred since then. Topics range from terrorism, border security, politics, media, and historical analysis.

The human brain, and the mind it creates, is enormously complex. Everything we do, feel and think emerges from billions of nerve cells and their interconnections. Brain development is shaped by evolution and genetics, but is also greatly affected by experience. The mind takes shape through exposure to individuals and cultures, and becomes a constructive and predictive device. It creates inner worlds that allow us to behave in highly adaptive ways, but also to engage in highly risky behavior and make bad decisions.

Six speakers will explore how brains are built, how minds are made, and how modern cognative and neural science is changing the way we think about memory, money, morality, mortality and more.

Cosmic Origins is the story of the universe but it's also our story. Hear about origin of space and time, mass and energy, the atoms in our bodies, the compact objects where matter can end up, and the planets and moons where life may flourish. Modern cosmology includes insights and triumphs, but mysteries remain. Join the six speakers who will explore cosmology’s historical and cultural backdrop to explain the discoveries that speak of our cosmic origins.

In 1992, the University of Arizona hosted a number of extraordinary American Indian writers embodying the emergence of Native American literature. Now, the English Department and the Poetry Center at the University of Arizona have resurrected this groundbreaking series. Poetics and Politics 2011 features Native American poets, linguists and scholars who share their work with the public for the series of readings held between January and April 2011.